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Jared Spurgeon delivers once more, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to lead the Wild past the Predators

Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators

Jared Spurgeon scored the game-winning goal just 58 seconds into overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn.

Spurgeon and Kirill Kaprizov each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota, which won its third straight game. Declan Chisholm also scored a goal.

For Nashville, Fedor Svechkov and Ryan O’Reilly each scored, as the team lost its third consecutive overtime game. Roman Josi recorded two assists.

Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson made 25 saves on 27 shots to secure the win, while Predators goalie Juuse Saros allowed three goals on 28 shots.

Kaprizov set up the game-winning goal by carrying the puck into the offensive zone and sending a backhand pass to Spurgeon in the slot. Spurgeon then scored with a one-timer, his third goal in two games.

Nashville Predators (NHL)

This was Spurgeon’s second game-winning goal in as many days, as he also scored to help the Wild defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Friday afternoon.

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead with 1:03 left in the first period. Chisholm fired a slap shot through traffic for his first goal of the season and the fourth of his career.

Nashville tied the game with 21 seconds remaining in the first period when Svechkov scored his first NHL goal with a one-timer from the right circle. Svechkov, a 2021 first-round pick, celebrated with his teammates.

The Predators took a 2-1 lead on a power play with 17:31 left in the second period. Steven Stamkos passed to the slot, where O’Reilly redirected the puck into the net for his fifth goal.

The Wild responded with a power-play goal of their own at 11:36 of the second. Kaprizov redirected the puck into the net with one hand for his team-leading 15th goal.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Predators look to improve offense in matchup against Wild

Nashville Predators (NHL)

The Minnesota Wild will try to win again on Saturday when they face the Nashville Predators in St. Paul, Minn. after their 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Captain Jared Spurgeon scored twice and Marco Rossi added a goal, helping Minnesota secure its second straight win. Now, they are aiming for a third win in a row.

“Straight lines and simple hockey, that works for us,” Spurgeon said.

The Predators will be looking to disrupt the Wild’s winning streak. Nashville also played on Friday, losing 3-2 in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning at home. Captain Roman Josi scored both goals for Nashville, which earned one point but has now lost two straight games in overtime.

Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said the team needs to improve offensively.

“Nobody’s really feeling it,” Brunette said. “If you look up and down our roster, we’re having a hard time scoring. So, nobody’s really feeling great about their game. And usually when you don’t feel good about your game, these kind of things happen. So, we have to try to find a way to feel a little better about our game.”

Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken

Spurgeon has been important for the Wild this season after missing six games in October while recovering from hip and back surgeries. His leadership and contributions have helped Minnesota’s performance.

“Just having him around, having his leadership presence, it’s a night-and-day different feel as a group of guys,” Wild defenseman Brock Faber said. “Obviously, he’s the leader of that. His off-ice characteristics and on-ice (contributions) are just helping us a whole lot.”

The Predators may choose to play Scott Wedgewood in goal instead of Juuse Saros on back-to-back nights. Saros made 25 saves on 28 shots on Friday. Wedgewood has a 1-2-1 record with a 3.69 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage in five games (four starts) this season. He needs one more win to reach 50 career wins.

Wedgewood has faced Minnesota five times in his career, posting a 1-1-2 record with a 2.94 GAA and a .900 save percentage. The Wild are likely to start Filip Gustavsson in goal. Gustavsson has a 10-4-3 record this season with a 2.06 GAA and a .929 save percentage. In five career games against Nashville, Gustavsson is 2-2-1 with a 3.39 GAA and an .882 save percentage.

Josi said the Predators are focused on improving their offense. Nashville has been outscored 11-6 in its last three games.

“It’s hard to win in this league when you score two goals a game, and we’re working on it,” Josi said. “We’re trying to find it. I think we’ve got a ton of talent in here that can put the puck in the net. … The only thing we can do is press down and keep working on it and keep trying. Keep going to the net, keep shooting the puck.”

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Flyers look to bounce back from missed chance as they take on Predators

Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)

The Philadelphia Flyers will try to move past a missed opportunity when they play the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.

The Flyers were ahead 3-0 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday but ended up losing 5-4 in a shootout. Meanwhile, the Predators lost 5-2 to the New Jersey Devils after Nico Hischier scored a natural hat trick in the second period.

Morgan Frost had a goal and an assist, and Ivan Fedotov made 26 saves for Philadelphia. The Flyers lost for the third time in four games, bringing their record to 1-2-1 in their last four. Rookie right winger Matvei Michkov scored his eighth goal of the season as the Flyers finished a five-game homestand with a 2-2-1 record.

“One of our better showings in the offensive zone as far as puck movement and people moving without it,” said Philadelphia coach John Tortorella. “Take out seven or eight minutes, it’s a really good game by us. But that’s a really good team. They’ll capitalize.”

For Frost, it was his second goal of the season and his sixth assist.

“It’s nice to contribute, for sure. It’s been a struggle in that area for me,” Frost said. “It was nice to contribute there and hopefully keep building on it and contribute more going offensively.”

Sean Couturier has scored in back-to-back games for the Flyers, and Travis Konecny has points in nine of the last 10 games (six goals, 10 assists).

Nashville Predators (NHL)

The Predators have alternated wins and losses in their last four games and have lost five of their last seven (2-3-2).

Filip Forsberg and Zachary L’Heureux scored for Nashville against the Devils, but goaltender Juuse Saros was pulled after giving up four goals on 30 shots in the first two periods. Scott Wedgewood stopped all 15 shots he faced in relief.

“I thought (the Devils) were faster, they won more battles, and they were just a better team for 60 minutes,” said Predators captain Roman Josi. “We had a little bit of a push in the third, but it was way too late. We’ve been talking about it — we have one good game and we fall back to a bad game, and we’re not in a position to do that. We need to find consistency.”

L’Heureux, Nashville’s first-round pick (No. 27 overall) in the 2021 draft, made it 4-2 early in the third period with a backhander on a breakaway for his second goal of the season.

“He’s been great,” said Josi of L’Heureux. “He has a lot of energy. Obviously, scores a nice goal. And just in general, gets on the forecheck, he gets pucks back, he’s hard to play against. So, he’s been great.”

Nashville was 0-for-5 on the power play, after having scored on three of eight chances in the previous three games.

Before Monday’s game, the Predators traded forward Philip Tomasino to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Tomasino had one assist in 11 games this season for Nashville.

Nashville forward Michael McCarron (upper-body, day-to-day) did not play on Monday.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

NHL to hold hearing for Devils’ Timo Meier over cross-checking incident

Timo Meier (NHL)

New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier will have a hearing with the NHL on Tuesday, the day after his cross-check to Zachary L’Heureux caused the Nashville Predators forward to leave the game.

In the third period of the Devils’ 5-2 win in Newark, N.J., Meier tried to poke the puck away from Predators goaltender Juuse Saros at 12:17. L’Heureux took issue with this move, which led Meier to respond by cross-checking him twice—once to his body and then to his face. The second cross-check caused L’Heureux to bleed.

New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators

Meier was given a five-minute cross-checking penalty and a game misconduct after the incident. L’Heureux left the game and did not return.

Meier, 28, has earned 15 points (seven goals and eight assists) in 24 games this season.

The Swiss forward has accumulated 397 career points (198 goals and 199 assists) in 565 games with the Sharks and Devils since being drafted by San Jose with the ninth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

New Jersey traded for Meier from the Sharks in a multi-player deal on February 26, 2023.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Nico Hischier’s hat trick powers Devils to victory against Predators

New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators

Nico Hischier’s natural hat trick in the second period helped the New Jersey Devils defeat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Monday in Newark, N.J.

This was Hischier’s first-ever hat trick in his eight NHL seasons, and he ended his 10-game goal drought in a big way. Despite the recent slump, Hischier leads New Jersey with 13 goals this season.

Erik Haula and Justin Dowling also scored for the Devils, and Johnathan Kovacevic had two assists. Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves on 21 shots to earn the win.

The Devils have now won three straight games and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

This victory marked New Jersey’s first home win against Nashville since March 3, 2015, breaking an eight-game losing streak against the Predators at home.

Filip Forsberg and Zachary L’Heureux scored for Nashville, who has a 2-3-2 record in their last seven games.

Dylan Cozen challenges Nico Hischier in the game

Juuse Saros stopped 26 of 30 shots before being replaced by Scott Wedgewood at the start of the third period. Wedgewood made 15 saves in relief.

Forsberg gave Nashville the lead with their first shot of the game at 5:06 of the first period. Haula tied it for the Devils at 11:29 after a nice passing play.

New Jersey took the lead 3:52 into the second period after Timo Meier passed to Hischier, who raced down the right side and scored, getting past Nashville defender Marc Del Gaizo.

The Devils were 1-for-2 on the power play, while Nashville was 0-for-5. Hischier scored New Jersey’s power-play goal at 10:01 of the second period.

Hischier completed his hat trick with a breakaway goal at 16:57 of the second period, after Stefan Noesen stole the puck at the blue line and passed to him.

L’Heureux scored for Nashville at 7:39 of the third period, but despite having a five-minute power play later in the game, Nashville could not score again after Meier’s major penalty for cross-checking L’Heureux.

Dowling sealed the win for the Devils with an empty-net goal at 17:25 of the third period.